Meet Ava Lacroix | Photographer & Filmmaker (Keeper of Imagination)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ava Lacroix and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ava, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
I love my community of friends, and I love seeing them win! Having a solid inner circle is the driving force of my life. My friends love, protect, inspire, and most importantly, understand me! That is perhaps one of my greatest blessings. I am very community-minded, family-oriented, and people-driven. So, being able to spend the time I’ve been granted on earth with close friends (as we work through our fair share of what could sometimes only be described as a 90’s TV series of the slice of life/coming-of-age genre) really makes me feel connected to a higher purpose. Second to this, I’m in love with visual storytelling. I have universes, with complex characters and intricate systems of reality wrapped up in my mind. I think I was born to be a storyteller. Being able to tell stories through visual arts, and connecting with the people I love really makes me happy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m enchanted by works of fantasy. Even more interestingly, I’m drawn to the construct of the birthing of Lore (folklore). Stories that are told and retold and passed down through generations as truth becomes intermingled with fantasy, it becomes a living piece of culture itself. That is my aim. I want to use my art to inspire the imagination and create new stories of lore. There is a glaring absence of black representation in many fantasy works, my art tends to take center stage in portraying narratives where black individuals are the protagonists, bringing their stories to life in the realm of fantasy.

I got to the place I am today through lots of grit and determination. That is by far my most notable trait. I’m quite the fighter. I’ve faced many setbacks and one major challenge that required me to start from scratch and find the courage to create again. I’ve learnt many lessons along the way, the most important one being the need for me to always stay true to myself. Authenticity is key in guiding my craft and vision forward. Failure isn’t the end, and finding success isn’t always a hallmark to say that you’ve arrived. Everything is an intentional part of the journey of life. Sometimes its rough, lonely and tiresome, other times it’s awe inspiring, invigorating and so much fun. No, it wasn’t easy – at all- but i’ve found a way to give the pain a home where I let it play and show us the lessons it came to give.

My brand is a safe space for all, the broken, the dejected, the lost, the overlooked… My creative style tends to reflect, in fragments, the soft cries of the mundane that wish the world would give it as much space to be seen, heard and felt, as it is. I see beauty everywhere, in everything and everyone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting The Bahamas on a week long trip, I’d take them Island hopping. First, we’d take a charter plane over to Exuma to experience the Exuma blues (some of the most beautiful crystal clear blue waters on planet earth). On that trip we’d swim with the sharks and visit the swimming pigs. Afterwards, we’d hop on over to Inagua which is regarded as a paradise for bird watchers and home to over 80,000 flamingoes ( and this is crazy since Great Inagua has a population of roughly 900 people. That’s nearly 87 times as many birds as there are people on the island). Once done with bird watching I just know I’d be in the mood for a bit of landscape photography featuring the Morton salt flats (yes, thee Morton Salt company). After Inagua, we’d head over to Long Island to swim in Deans blue hole (it’s one of the deepest in the world at 663ft deep). Finally, after a long week of Island hopping we’d head back to Nassau to visit some of the art galleries and enjoy some good food at my favorite food spots on the island.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shoutout YHWH, to whom I owe my very breath! Thank you for being my source of strength. I’d also like to shout out Gabriel Turnquest, who not only recommended me to Shoutout Miami, but is a big source of inspiration in my life. I love your work! To my best friends, Patrick, Maz and Stan, thank you for all the years of friendship, love, openness and kindness towards me. Last, but not least, I’d like to shout out Yvonne Ferguson; prayers are stacked to the heavens for me from you. I owe the majority of protection and safe passage I’ve experienced in my life to you. xox

Website: https://www.moonfoxx.com

Instagram: @the.moon.foxx

Other: Tik Tok @moonfoxxphoto

Image Credits
Ava Lacroix